Tantrum
by thewizardanthedragon
Summary: CJ has a melt down at school.  WARNING: CP/spanking of a minor. DON'T LIKE? DON'T READ!
1. Chapter 1

Most of CJ's teachers were ok… two stood out… Mr. Richardson her sixth grade teacher taught 7th grade math and Ms. Stewart a new French teacher. They stood out for different reasons. CJ respected Mr. Richardson very much, she may have been in trouble on several occasions last year but as a teacher he was really cool. School was more fun and he was the first teacher that had made himself a person, someone you could relate to, talk to even. He was the one she turned herself into when she'd caused havoc on Halloween. Ms. Stewart was the exact opposite of Mr. Richardson. She was … a b****h; there was no other word for it. She was rude, disrespectful of the students but expected implicit and immediate cooperation. CJ had no time for her. This was probably what led to the incident that had her currently sitting in her bedroom waiting for her father to come home.

CJ wasn't known for sitting still or keeping her mouth shut. It was in her file, it had been what she'd been in trouble for almost every day of her life. She was reprimanded on a daily basis in Ms. Stewart's class even if it wasn't her fault. CJ complained about it to Steven, Abby, and her parents anyone who would listen. Steven was the only sympathetic ear. All the adults told her to keep her head down and do what she was told. The whole military just follow orders thing might work for all of them but not for CJ; she didn't work for the Navy. As the year wore on CJ's patience for being picked on was wearing very thin.

So this afternoon when she entered the class and was snapped at before she even got to her desk she didn't respond 100 % perfectly. She swore under her breath and slapped the top of her desk. Ms. Stewart walked over to CJ's desk and placed a detention slip on it with an annoying smirk. CJ counted to ten… someone had told her that counting helped to not do anything rash when angry… it had never worked but she attempted it at times like this when she was very angry and didn't have anything specific she wanted to do. She got to 10 and was still angry. She sat seething in her desk.

The class continued. CJ wasn't paying any attention. Ms. Stewart stopped blabbing at some point and handed out desk work. CJ didn't even make an effort to do the work. It was pointless anyway she didn't care about French. Sasha sat in the desk in front of CJ and often turned around to ask CJ about the work. This was not the right day to do that, but Sasha didn't know that. Turning repeatedly to verify the answers Sasha kept her voice low but still drew attention to the two girls. CJ hadn't opened her mouth even once nor had she moved. Sasha was truly the one to blame. But true to form Ms. Stewart blamed CJ.

"Miss DiNozzo… do you think you are so important that you don't have to follow the rules in this classroom?"

CJ stayed still and quiet. She was not going to get into more trouble for something she didn't do. She was going to keep herself under control.

"When I speak to you I expect you to answer, that would be one of the rules in this classroom you don't seem to want to follow"

Ms. Stewarts tone was condescending, rude and she was definitely power tripping. CJ resolve to keep her temper was gone by the time the teacher had finished the statment.

"You don't want me to answer. Because my answer isn't what you want to hear. My answer is that I wasn't talking in class, Sasha was. You've had it in for me the whole year and for no reason. I don't follow the rules in your class because you aren't worth the respect to bother following the rules."

By the end of the rant CJ was so angry she was screaming. Her fists were clenched and her face was red as her blood began to boil. Ms. Stewart was beyond angry by the time CJ was finally quiet. Rage sparked in her eyes. Ms. Steward didn't even speak; CJ wasn't sure she could have, when she pointed to the back of the class and pointed to the corner.

CJ was in 7th grade, she was 12 years old, she was not going to stand in the corner, and Ms. Stewart had another thing coming. But sitting working wasn't a good choice either, so sitting at the back of the class with her back to the bookshelves looking out towards the classroom and having some fun might be a good option. Ms. Stewart returned to her desk and sat slamming her books around as she started to work. The class was extraordinarily quiet. You could have heard a pin drop.

As CJ sat her anger only grew. If she was going to be in trouble… then she might as well have done something to make that worthwhile… she was pretty darn sure that Ms. Stewart would be strapping her before she left for her next class… she had before… CJ decided that if that was the case then she was going to make sure she actually deserved it…

She began to make faces at a now standing Ms. Stewart. The couple of boys at the back of the row saw her and began to laugh. They quickly turned back to the front of the room before Ms. Stewart saw them. CJ continued to rile the class quietly. Over the next 20 minutes CJ had the entire class laughing in hysterics; Ms. Stewart had lost complete control of the class and herself. CJ had accomplished her goal of actually doing something to be in trouble and felt really good about it. It was the first time she'd had fun in French class all year and she felt she had paid Ms. Stewart back for her tormenting. With 10 minutes left in the class Ms. Stewart top finally blew. Shouting at the top of her lungs she demanded that CJ leave the classroom and wait in the hallway. An overconfident grin spread across CJ's face as she strode arrogantly out of the class and slammed the door behind her.

CJ leaned against the wall waiting for Ms. Stewart to come and talk to her. CJ was acting more than a little cocky. The bell rang to signal the end of class, the hallway filled with students travelling to their next class. Many of the students from CJ's class gave her a high five as they passed by. CJ was not the only one who couldn't stand Ms. Stewart. Her actions were seen as a coup by the other students.

Ms. Stewart's next class was all seated in their desks before she entered the hallway carrying her pointer. CJ was still cockily leaning against the wall with one leg bent with foot on the wall. Ms. Stewart grabbed CJ's collar with both hands and shook her, brought her face inches from CJ's and began yelling. CJ's foot slid down the wall to support her from falling. Her cockiness turned to utter surprise but not fear. There was little point in actually listening to the rant so CJ just stayed quiet and still. When Ms. Stewart finally stopped, CJ smirked and asked in her most condescending tone "Are you quite through I need to get to Mr. Graham science class."

The teacher was almost trembling when she instructed CJ to hold out her hand. CJ held out her hand, her smile never leaving her face. Ms. Stewart brought the pointer down hard across CJ's palm four times quickly. It stung but the picture of the hysterical teacher in a class of laughing students kept the stupid grin on CJ's face through the entire punishment.

CJ grabbed her belongings and headed towards Mr. Grahams newly renovated science lab. Many of her classmates cheered as she entered. Mr. Graham seemed confused by quickly got the class back under control.

The rest of the afternoon went by without incident that was until CJ was packing up her backpack at her locker. As she was about to slam it shut and look for Steven to walk home with her someone grabbed her shoulder. Startled she reflexively grabbed the hand and tried to flip the offender as her mother had taught her to do for self defense.

"CJ, it's me" Gibbs growled as he grabbed her arm as well as maintaining his grip on her shoulder. Once again he was proud of her actions. Ziva had been smart to teach her daughter how to defend herself and she'd learned it well. "Oh. Hi Uncle Gibbs"

"What are you doing here? Did mom and dad get called out of town again?" Seeing her Uncle at the school was not unheard of and didn't set off any alarm bells.

"Nope. Let's go" Gibbs stated as he turned and walked towards the exit that led to the parking lot.

"Gibbs, I need to tell Steven I'm going with you, I told him we were going to walk home together" she called after him.

"Don't bother he can come with us, we're going to your place" he answered without turning back.

CJ ran off to find Steven and together they made it to the parking lot to find Gibbs already behind the wheel of the car. The two kids were laughing easily. CJ didn't have any of her usual guards in place when she entered the vehicle.

They had only been in the car for a couple of blocks when Gibbs asked "So anything exciting happen today?" Laughing Steven began "Oh yes… Gibbs you shoulda seen CJ… she was great… Ms. Stewart was being totally vicious and CJ put her in her place. It was 'Sweeeet'." Steven obviously didn't see the nasty glare CJ shot him. "CJ got strapped for it but she said it didn't hurt and … " CJ finally silenced him with an elbow to the ribs.

"Oww, CJ that hurt, what did you do that for?" Steven whined but quickly shut up when he saw the mutinous stare CJ was giving him. It wasn't until this very moment that he realized what he had just done. His story was getting CJ into more trouble. He mouthed "I'm sorry" and winced to show he felt bad.

Gibbs smiled … that was way too easy… CJ apparently hadn't warned Steven that he needed to keep her little escapades to himself… CJ didn't realize until that question had been asked that her 'tantrum' had been reported to the 'home' authorities. It never occurred to her that Ms. Stewart would report the episode. Obviously she was wrong. There had been a few other occasions that CJ had been punished and Ms. Stewart hadn't reported them.

Steven was dropped off first and whispered to CJ as he slid out of the car "Sorry ceejj"

They arrived in the driveway of CJ's home and before Gibbs got out of the car CJ grabbed her bag and headed as quickly as she could to the door. She used the keypad to access the house and made it to her room as fast as she could. CJ dropped her bag and threw herself into her desk chair. Spinning the chair around helped her to calm down and start to think. Think, think, think…. How could you get yourself out of such a situation? Assessing the situation CJ realized that the biggest problem was Steven's 'testimony'… maybe if she explained that the kids over exaggerated because that's what kids do … would that be enough to bring this back into manageable territory.

During her spinning moments she had missed the fact that Gibbs had entered the house and come up the stairs. So she jumped when the door to her bedroom swung open. He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed staring at the not so smug girl in front of him. He could wait, he was only there on a fact finding mission. Tony had asked if he could pick her up and find out exactly what happened.

When Ms. Stewart had called to complain about this afternoon's incident she had been beyond angry and her explanation was somewhat sketchy. Tony wanted to know if it was because she had been sent over the edge by his daughter or if she may have been embellishing exactly what happened.

"Are you here as interrogator, executioner or both?" CJ decided to break the tension with a question. Gibbs allowed a smile to break but only slightly. "I'm just here to talk… you got anything to say"

"Not really" she said hesitantly. Gibbs pursed his lips and shook his head. It was worth a try she thought.

"What do you want me to say?" CJ asked carefully.

Sitting on the edge of the bed he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and rubbed his hands across his chin. "I want you to tell me exactly what happened today in French class, from the moment you walked into Ms. Stewart's class, until the moment you walked into your next class."

CJ inhaled and cautiously started to explain… "I got into class and before I even sat down or had a chance to do anything wrong… "she looked to Gibbs to see if he was on her side " … she snapped at me… I slammed my desk and sat down… Ms. Stewart strode over and put a detention slip on my desk… she had this look … on her face… I was so mad… and I tried to count to 10 … I don't know why people think that works because it NEVER does." CJ stopped retelling the story out loud and slipped into recalling what happened in her head. When she got to the part where the entire class was laughing she laughed.

Gibbs sat still and quiet waiting for CJ to continue. When she laughed he cleared his throat menacingly.

CJ was brought back to reality quickly and got back to her explanation. She was truthful in her recollection but didn't give specific details about what she said.

As she finished the "Un uh" from Gibbs came as expected.

Without saying anything else he stood up and made for the door.

CJ didn't like not knowing what was going on or what to expect and this afternoon wasn't going as she had anticipated… just before he had completely exited her room, she spun her chair to face the door and stated "I'm confused… why are you here?"

"I am here to figure out what happened today… that's all… I'll talk to DiNozzo and he'll take it from here."

"Aaaahhh" CJ screwed up her face and nodded … so this wasn't over ….

Once Gibbs left the room she listened for his movement down on the main floor. He puttered around a bit and then sat down at the kitchen table, sounded like he was reading the news paper she could hear it crinkling. As soon as she thought he was settled she crossed the room, closed her door and threw herself down on her bed. Her parents were really big on respect and doing as you're told…. And today's little occurrence would put her in the not doing as you're told category…. And also definitely in the disrespectful category.

CJ weighed her options… one… stay here and do nothing waiting for her father to get home… two.. sneak down the stairs and see if she could make it out the front door ….or three… go down and plead her case with Uncle Gibbs and see if she can bring him to her side ….. none of those seemed like GOOD ideas. But waiting changed nothing, running would cause more problems …. That left talking to Gibbs. CJ got up, took a deep breath, she slowly and carefully approached the top of the stairs. Before her foot even touched the top stair Gibbs called up "Don't bother… I'm not going to talk DiNozzo out of tanning your hide" How the HELL does he do that…. she barely knew what she was trying to do.

So this is how she ended up sitting on her bed waiting for her father to get home.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony stormed into the house and was headed straight for his daughter's bedroom ready to make sure she understood how angry and disappointed he was in her behavior. As he passed by the kitchen Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Hey Boss. I'm…"

"Tony"

"You wanted to say something?" Tony responded impatiently.

"Well… if you wanted to take a minute and listen" said Gibbs without putting down his paper or coffee mug.

Sighing loudly Tony paused, lowered his head and entered the kitchen. Turning the chair around opposite his old boss and leaning on the back after swinging his leg over the seat. Gibbs slowly folded the paper leaned onto the table and held his coffee in both hands.

"You wanted to say something?" Tony repeated sounding even more irritated.

"I thought you might find it interesting that CJ is currently seen as a hero in her class and she feels that what she did was completely justified."

"And that matters to what I'm about to do because…"

Pursing his lips and shaking his head slowly. "Tony … what is the purpose of tanning her hide if she isn't going to learn anything from it?"

"I was going to talk to her first Boss… she'll know exactly what got her into that position before I'm through." Tony answered with a confused look.

"A spanking has two main purposes .. 1.. to reinforce a lesson and 2… to help atone for an action in order to assuage the guilt… She definitely doesn't feel guilty for what she did and I am not sure that at this point the lesson you think she will be learning is the right one." Gibbs stated knowingly.

Sighing again Tony looked to Gibbs. Knowing this meant he wanted him to continue Gibbs suggested "I think the most effective punishment would be simply to have her apologize to Ms. Stewart in front of the class…. That would show that you don't approve of the behavior and that there are consequences that are not easy to deal with as well as taking away her 'hero' status with the other students. "

Tony sat thinking for a few moments while Gibbs returned to sipping his coffee and reading the paper.

What Gibbs said had merit. He didn't like having to take his belt to CJ's backside at any time…. and having to apologize would make sure that CJ didn't try it again… and would diminish any credibility that she had gained with her classmates. Taking a deep breath he stood returned the chair to its rightful place. "Thanks Boss" he called over his shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony entered his daughter's room to find her leaning up against the head board listening to her ipod and reading. She was obviously trying to ignore him as he saw her eyes flick in her direction when the door opened. He crossed the room in 2 steps and pulled the ear buds out of her ears. CJ still maintained her fictitious concentration on her book. Tony took the book from her hands and tossed it on the bed. He sat on the side of bed and placed his hand gently on her knee.

"CJ look at me" he instructed.

Raising her head slowly she cautiously looked at her father's face. He looked smug more than angry.

"Thought you were something today didn't ya"

Again CJ just looked at her father. Not sure exactly how he expected her to reply or even if she was suppose to.

"Well…" he said not un-encouragingly

"She always picks on me. I hate her. I'm not sorry about what I did and nothing you say is going to change my mind" the more she thought about it the more she thought Ms. Stewart deserved exactly what she got.

"You may hate her… and she may pick on you… but your behavior was completely unacceptable… even if you don't respect the person… you respect the position she holds."

"She shouldn't be in that position… she's an idiot"

Tony didn't take the bait; he simply gave her a Gibbs style glare.

"If you have a problem with someone you come to me, you go to your mother, you go to Gibbs or you go to anyone who can deal with the situation. You don't take the matter into your own hands. If an adult you are with asks you to do something you are expected to follow through, as long as it is safe."

"Ok" she said dejectedly. She knew that the lecture portion of the evening was drawing to a close and wasn't looking forward to the punishment part.

Tony stood and CJ began to shift her position getting ready for what she was expecting to happen next. Tony held up his hand to stop her from moving any further.

"Tomorrow I will meet you at the beginning of French class and you will apologize for your behavior to Ms. Stewart in front of your classmates."

CJ was stunned. She couldn't even think of something to say. Tony quietly left the room so that his daughter could digest what he just said.


	4. Chapter 4

Her father had to be completely out of his mind. There was no way on God's green earth she was going to apologize to Ms. Stewart let alone do it in front of her friends. Good Luck is all she thought. She returned to her ipod and book not even giving any more thought to tomorrow as it wasn't going to happen.

Tony quickly made his way down to the kitchen to find Gibbs making another pot of coffee.

"Where's Ziver?" Gibbs asked.

"She thought she would finish up a little bit of work while I dealt with things at home so that she could avoid the confrontation. Often the two of them… " pointing to the stairs and towards the door "often butt heads more than necessary when things are a little tense."

Gibbs gave a strained laughed as he poured himself and Tony a cup of coffee. The two men began to fix something for supper and talked lightly about work and hobbies. With perfect timing Ziva entered as the two men set the table and started to set out the food. Gibbs called from the bottom of the stairs up to CJ.

The adults all sat down for supper and began passing around the serving dishes. CJ was hungry otherwise she had no interest in being in the same room with any of them. She didn't like bending over for her punishment but not having it over with immediately really wasn't exactly working for her either. It wasn't over so it wasn't over between her and these people either. She came down the stairs slowly and peeked around the corner. They were all eating and talking casually, looked safe enough. With her ipod still attached she sat at the table at the only seat available beside Gibbs. Without a word he pulled the ear buds out and took the ipod and placed it on the table on the other side of his plate. CJ glared at him but didn't trust herself to say anything. The conversation continued as if she hadn't entered at all. CJ ate quickly hoping to retreat to her bedroom for safety and comfort as soon as possible. Once finished she took her plate to the sink and tried a quick getaway only to be stopped by literally running into Gibbs standing at the bottom of the stairway. As she slowly raised her head to look at him… he looked at her with one of his piercing 'I know what you're thinking' glares… she stayed silent heart thumping so hard she thought it was about to pop out of her chest. She loved this man just as much as she loved her parents but he also scared her like crazy whenever she was in trouble. The two of them stood there staring at each other was for what seemed like forever.

"May I go to my room please" CJ whispered, she couldn't seem to find her voice.

"Yep, just thought you might want this" holding her ipod out to her.

"Thanks" she forced out taking the device and trying to step around him.

"Good Luck tomorrow in French class" he said with a 'know it all smirk'. He kissed the top of her head before stepping aside so she could get by. She didn't hesitate and ran directly up to her room before she started to cry in front of him.

Once in her room she turned on her music, threw herself on her bed and wept. She was beyond frustrated. They were really going to make her apologize. She couldn't… she just couldn't do it. They didn't understand. As she thought about it a while longer she started to wonder exactly how they thought they could 'make' her apologize. You can't make someone say something if they don't want to.

That's it. They couldn't make her. She just wouldn't say anything. She took a shower, got ready for bed and read for a little while before finally falling asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

CJ met Steven outside of his house for their morning walk to school. Steven was spun again, worrying that he'd gotten her into trouble with his gloating on her behalf yesterday on the drive home.

"Calm down Steven, I'm fine"

"Ya didn't get IT when Gibbs got you home?" he asked tentatively.

"No … actually it was kinda weird really"

"Weird… How?"

"No yelling, no punishment, no nothing…" she trailed off.

"But…?" Steven was the only kid who could read CJ. It was one of the reasons she liked him.

"They want me to apologize to Ms. Stewart."

"They what?" he almost choked on the thought.

"Not only that…my father is going to come to the class to witness 'this' apology" as she thought about it again she almost vomited. She wasn't going to be able to do it.

"Whoa… that totally sucks"

"Yea"

The rest of the walk to school was in silence. Just before they entered the school Steven patted CJ on the back and gave her a supportive smile. She smiled back. "Thanks" was all she said.

The morning took forever on one hand and not long enough on the other. She sat with Steven in the lunch room but didn't eat anything. As the moment approached she started to feel sick. The two kids sat outside leaning against the wall for the entire recess. Steven felt so sorry for his friend. He wouldn't want to be in her shoes right now. He couldn't do it that was for sure. Although he thought he wouldn't have gotten himself into this mess either. When the bell rang CJ got up without a word and headed for her locker ready to go to class. Steven followed her, he couldn't say anything to help her but he could be beside her.

Walking towards French class CJ could see her father leaning against the wall by the door. She kept her head down and entered without making eye contact or even letting on she knew he was there. Tony followed the kids into the class and waited until the class settled and Ms. Stewart took a seat at her desk. He had called ahead to let her know that he would be there and why. Once the class was quiet Tony approached his daughter, took a hold of her by the shoulder of her sweater and directed her to the front of the class beside the teacher's desk.

"CJ what do you have to say to Ms. Stewart?" Tony commanded.

CJ stood stalk still and stared at the teacher and then turned just enough to look out at the class. They were sitting like statues. Not a single person moved or talked you couldn't even see any of them breathing. The look of sheer surprise in each of their eyes. CJ turned back towards the teacher and took a breath, she was about to begin to speak when she noticed the glint in Ms. Stewarts eyes. It was a look of triumph and power, a look of disgust towards CJ, a look that made CJ realize that it didn't matter what her father said or did, Hell would freeze over before she apologized to this woman.

Noticing her hesitation Tony leaned down to whisper into CJ's ear so that only she could hear him.

"Apologize now"

CJ spun around as best she could as he still had hold of her shoulder and with the nastiest glare she could muster shook her head no.

Turning her back to face the teacher still seated at her desk but now with a look of surprise he growled "NOW". Everyone but CJ jumped at the command. CJ just stood there gritting her teeth getting angrier and angrier. How could he expect her to apologize? Didn't he see the look on her face, didn't he understand that she was refusing out of principal not just to tick him off?

CJ gasped as her father unexpectedly gave her backside one heck of a stinging swat. She tried to turn again but he maintained his grip and made sure she continued to face her nemesis. Again she saw the smugness on the teacher's face, she thought she was winning. And in the instant CJ decided to what she was going to say, they couldn't say she didn't apologize.

"Ms. Stewart" she began "I am so very sorry that you were not able to tell who it was who disrupted your class" she took a deep breath and continued "I am sorry that you mistakenly blamed me for talking again and that I was then forced to take matters into my own hands." CJ surveyed the class she could see out of her peripheral vision and those that understood where she was going had smiles across their faces. "I am sorry that I had to prove what DISRUPTING really is" .. again she took a deep breath "I hope that the episode will not have to be repeated again and that you will refrain from tormenting myself or any other student for that matter again." With the last words out of her mouth she ripped herself from her father's grip and stalked to her desk, throwing herself into her seat and smiling self-righteously.

Tony was beyond astounded as he stood at the front of the room not even knowing what to say or do. A position he rarely found himself in. He turned to the teacher who was also stunned into silence, and nodded. He walked to his daughter's desk , placed a hand on the back of her chair and the other on her desk. He leaned down so that his face was only inches from hers and waited until she turned to look at him. As soon as she was looking at his stone cold eyes, her eyes filled with tears. In a level and guarded tone that he may have used in an interrogation he said "when we get home I will make sure you severely regret the choice you just made" and then Tony stormed out of the class.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony got in the car and drove the long way back to work. He was furious. What was she playing at? What was she THINKING? By the time he got to work he was able to think a little straighter not because he'd sorted out what happened but because he'd spent time calming down.

McGee looked at him as he walked into the bullpen and after one look guessed that Tony's trip to the school did not go as planned. McGee didn't have children of his own but when Tony had told him about yesterdays outburst and what he had planned as a punishment he thought Tony was crazy. CJ was just as mischievous as Tony and as strong willed as Ziva. Forcing an apology out of anyone was a difficult task let alone CJ. When Ziva returned to her desk she too understood things didn't go as planned. "You want to talk about it Tony." Pursing his lips he shook his head and went back to working on the most current case. Raising her eyebrows as she looked at McGee she too went back to her desk to work. Last night after CJ had gone to bed Ziva and Tony had discussed the issue and both decided that Tony would continue to deal with CJ as he had ultimately decided that the apology was the best course of action.

Ziva loved her daughter more than anything and she wanted her to have the childhood she never did. By the time she was CJ's age she'd learned how to defend herself, how to shoot a gun, how to find her way out of any forest, desert or unfamiliar city. Her "training" forced her to grow up quickly. There was no time for playing, no time to pull practical jokes. Her own father would have torn a strip off her even if she'd gotten a detention as it would interfere with her after school training. She wanted CJ to enjoy her school years, have free time to spend with friends. Yet she also expected her to be respectful, work her hardest at her school work and work towards growing up. So the two "schools of thought" warred inside her head at times like these. Often Ziva was unable to rectify these warring thoughts and so the discipline of their daughter often fell on Tony's shoulders. She didn't want that to be the case but felt that it was in CJ's best interest for her not get directly involved and to simply support Tony's decisions.

Now for this particular episode of such blatant disrespect and foolishness she was having a very hard time with only an apology as punishment. But Tony had said that Gibbs had given him the idea and explained that a public apology would make sure that CJ understood what behavior was expected of her and also help the other student's understand that mutiny wasn't going to be accepted. Ziva had been undercover for work for so many times and doing so had said many things she did not mean or feel. So having to say sorry may help the rest of the class but Ziva couldn't understand how CJ was going to learn anything. Now looking across her desk at her angry husband she wasn't sure how to help either him or her daughter.

The work day continued quietly as no one wanted to ask Tony exactly what happened and he was brooding at his desk. At 16:00 Tony still wasn't getting any work done he gathered his things and stormed out of the bullpen, smacked the elevator button and left.

Tony didn't make his way home but instead found himself outside of Gibbs' place. Letting himself in the never locked front door he made his way towards the basement. True to form Gibbs was sanding his latest project. Tony stopped half way down and sat on the step. Gibbs didn't have to look up to know who had come to see him. He was pretty sure that regardless of how today went Tony would drop by to talk.

"Tony, you here for a reason?"

"Yea"

"And the reason?"

"Oh… today didn't go very well… actually… it went horribly… "

Tony began to explain the whole story from the moment he and CJ walked into the class until he drove away in a temper.

"Uh Hun" Gibbs said mainly to encourage Tony to continue as he could tell by the look on his face he wasn't finished.

"The thing is I wouldn't have apologized either."

Gibbs stopped sanding and looked to his surrogate son in surprise.

"You didn't see the look on her face Gibbs… that teacher is a nasty witch… as I stood their insisting CJ apologize… this teacher had this look… smug… like she was enjoying watching CJ squirm… totally like CJ said … power tripping…"

"Mmm" Gibbs replied raising his eyebrows again in attempt to get Tony to continue.

"It was just wrong… I hate punishing CJ… It breaks my heart when I have to do it… yet this witch was taking pleasure in it… I wouldn't have been able to apologize either… yet I smacked CJ's bottom and told her to do it and then when she didn't I threatened to finish the job I'd started at home."

Tony with his head in his hands sat quietly on the stairs.

"Tony being a parent is not easy and there are no simple answers. Your job is to protect her and teach her. Sometimes those two things are at odds with each other. There is nothing wrong with explaining how you feel about the situation. You need to decide what you let slide and what you don't."

"Let slide?"

"Ya"

Gibbs returned to sanding while Tony stood nodded and exited.

Again Tony took the long way home processing what Gibbs had said and what he thought was the best course of action.


	7. Chapter 7

CJ sat in her desk stewing about what just happened. It all happened kinda fast and she didn't really mean to say those things. What she meant to do was to just stay quiet, not say anything at all. Steven kept looking over to his friend; he wanted her to know he was on her side. This was definitely not her day.

She sat quietly through the rest of French class. As soon as the bell rang she grabbed her bag and high tailed it out of there and headed to the science lab. Steven tried to catch up to her to talk but found her already seated at her station. Again he watched as CJ sat quietly and still through another class. There was something wrong. CJ didn't normally get so upset when she was in trouble.

By the end of the day Steven was really worried about her. She hadn't said a word to anyone, this was longest she'd been quiet in her entire life or at least the part of it that Steven knew about. When the final bell rang Steven ran to catch up with her and even though she didn't acknowledge his presence he made sure he stayed at her side while they packed up to go home. They headed towards home still in complete silence. Steven generally had to fight to get a word in edge wise and so he was definitely in new territory.

Once they had walked far enough that they were no longer on school property Steven forced himself in front of CJ so she had to stop walking. Although her progress was stopped she still didn't say anything nor did she look at his face. He took hold of both her shoulders and ducked his face back and forth to make sure he was able to make eye contact. "CJ, WHAT'S WRONG?" CJ tried to push past him. "STOP IT RIGHT NOW" Steven yelled uncharacteristically. CJ finally looked at Steven and what he saw had him even more worried. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and her face was strained. "CJ snap out of it" snapping his fingers in front of her face. "This is not the first time you've blown your lid… it is not the first time your father has smacked your butt… it is not the first time things haven't gone your way… so what's wrong?"

"He didn't care" unable to stop herself from crying. Steven patted her back as he cried on his shoulder. He was way out of his element he was not the strong one, he was not the leader, he was the side kick.

"He didn't care?" he tried to encourage CJ to elaborate.

"He still wanted me to apologize even after he saw her face… how could he… it's not fair… but not just normal unfair… like real unfair."

Steven decided he didn't need to understand, he just needed to listen. He felt so much better that CJ was actually talking.

"Com' on CJ… let's go home." With his arm around her shoulder Steven led her towards home.

Even though Steven's house was before CJ's he walked her all the way home. Steven waited while she unlocked the door and then asked if she thought she'd be ok alone until her parents got home. CJ nodded and closed the door behind her leaving Steven on the porch.

Throwing her backpack on the floor and kicking off her shoes she ran to her room and slammed the door. She turned on her ipod and laid on her bed listening to the music trying to forget about the day. She didn't expect anyone home for quite some time and so when she heard the front door open she was startled. CJ didn't remember locking the front door and so was momentarily worried about who it was entering the house. Having parents in the criminal investigative field tended to have you jump to the wrong conclusion about normal things. CJ quietly snuck to her door, opened it slowly and poked her head out to look down the stairs. Her father was hanging up his coat and putting her shoes and backpack in the front hall closet. She returned to her music on the bed.

Tony changed out of his work clothes and into jeans and a t-shirt, returned to the kitchen to get a couple of sodas and headed up to his daughter's room. He knocked and waited for a reply, he wanted to be invited in. When he didn't hear anything he asked "Hey CJ, can I come in?"

"What for?"

"To talk"

"That all?"

"Depends on the talking"

"Then nope you can't come in"

"I really want to talk to you CJ"

"What for?"

"I want to explain my take on things today…. I think you'll find it interesting"

"Not likely"

Tony was getting a little annoyed at the through the door conversation but he wanted to prove to CJ he was listening to her.

He leaned against the wall just outside his daughter's room waiting patiently, or at least as patiently as he could.

"CJ, I really do want to talk to you, may I please come in?"

"You can come in on one condition"

"That is?"

"You can come in for talking only, you can't do anything but talk, do you agree to that?"

"OK, does that mean I can come in now?"

"Alright" CJ's voice still sounding dejected.

Tony opened the door slowly and peered around the edge. CJ was sitting on the bed leaning against the headboard, knees drawn up to her chest. Closing the door before heading to the bed he was studying his daughter's face. He had never seen her look so hurt or lost.

"Did you want to tell me anything before I start explaining my side of the story" Tony enquired hesitantly.

"No, you can start"

"I went to the school today to make sure you apologized to your teacher for your behavior yesterday, which I want to state for the record I still think was wrong" she glared at her father but he continued with his story. "I arrived to find you smug and petulant" He smiled and half laughed at the visual imagery that flashed through his head. "I wanted to make sure you did as you were told, make me look like a good father and you a repentant student. But then while you were hesitating I saw a 'look' in the teacher's eyes, something flash across her face. She was enjoying the fact that you were being made to apologize, she was power tripping. I have to agree with you, that teacher of yours is a witch."

CJ smiled and raised her head to watch her father's face. He was smiling as he tussled her hair.

"So as a parent I have a bit of a problem."

"A problem, why?"

"Because as a parent I am suppose to teach you right from wrong and making you apologize was part of that. But in a perfect world the teacher would help out. Now in this case that didn't work. But due to the fact that she was power tripping today with me there I am going to assume she was doing the same thing yesterday when you lost it, am I right?"

CJ nodded.

"So I am going to assume that you understand that flipping out is not the right thing to do and if you need help you can come to me."

CJ nodded.

"I am also going to assume that even though your teacher is a witch you understand I don't want you egging her on, I want you to stay low and get through the year."

CJ nodded.

Tony patted his lap in order to invite his daughter to come and join him. CJ crawled over and sat on his lap snuggling in. Tony hugged her tight and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Now we have to talk about a little problem"

"What?" tilting her head towards her father's face furrowing her brow.

"I asked you to do something and you refused. Even if she is a witch it was me who asked you to apologize. And you disobeyed me."

CJ's expression turned to shock. Things were going so well and they decidedly took a turn for the worse.

"Remember you were only allowed in here to talk" CJ reminded him with a pleading glance.

"I know I'm still just talking… " Tony said trying to look as innocent as possible.

"What do you think we should do about our little problem?"

"Nothing" CJ suggested.

"I am letting a lot of 'behavior' slide but directly disobeying me … isn't something I can let slide"

"Humph" CJ groaned. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to leave because my current clearance is only to talk and I need to gain entry with authorization for other activities"

"You aren't going to be given authorization for any other activities, so don't bother trying" CJ smiled as she resumed her place against the headboard.

"We'll see about that."

Tony stood, exited the room and closed the door behind him.

Tony knocked on the door and wasn't surprised that there was no answer.

He opened the door and strode purposefully towards the bed. Sitting down where he had been only moments before and crooked his finger at his daughter and pointed at the floor in front of his feet.

"You don't have authorization to be in here" she tried without any success.

"I don't need it"

CJ reluctantly stood in front of her father. In the moment before he took her over his knee she remembered the promise he'd made her as he abandoned her in French class earlier that day. The promise of "I will make sure you severely regret the choice you just made". She gritted her teeth, clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut tightly ready for him to make good on his promise. Tony raised his hand and brought it down on his daughter's upturned backside. CJ let herself exhale slowly. That was not what she expected at all. The smack definitely stung but that was all. Tony made sure that the punishment had merit but did not follow through on his earlier threat. Once it was over he pulled her up onto his lap and held her as she cried. Her tears were not because of the heat in her backside but a release of pent up emotion over the past two days.

When Ziva finally got home from work she found the rest of her family sitting in front of the tv watching a movie with a pizza box propped up between them. Both smiling and laughing at the action on the screen.


End file.
